Shipping wheels
 

Has anyone shipped a pair of wheels via UPS or any other method? I want to sell a pair of Velocity Deep V wheels. I was looking at shipping cost. UPS estimates from PA to CA, furthest distance for estimate, $94.00. I entered 5 pounds for the estimate, probably low, but UPS defaults to 45 pounds. Shipping in a box built for wheels I got from my LBS.

What have you paid?

Thanks,
Bill

You can use bikeflights.com for wheels as well as entire bikes. I have shipped my entire bike in a large box from Philly to Missoula, MT several times for about $75, and that included $1,600 worth of insurance.


https://www.bikeflights.com/


They have a handy price quote feature on their site. All you need are the origin and destination zip codes, box dimension and weight.

$94 sounds high

I had two wheels shipped from Germany for $75. DHL handled movement in Germany and USPS brought it stateside and to my door.

Bikeflights estimate $34 four days handled by FedEx. I better look closer at how to do it. THANKS!

Bill

No problem. I have used them to ship my bike out west four times. The shipping is by FedEx. BF is simply a broker for discount FedEx bike shipping. When you purchase through them you get emailed a FedEx shipping label so you can box the item and drop it off at any FedEx location, including any FedEx Kinko's store. The only thing that is handled differently are damage claims. It's my understanding that you have to go through BF and not FedEx.


BTW...The interesting thing was to see how size and not weight is the primary price driver. I estimated the weight of my box, bike, racks and stove and fuel bottle that go inside. I got the same price quote for 40 lbs. as I did for 70 lbs. My bike and box are large. I am sure the price jumps if you get beyond a certain weight, but in my experiment, the size of the box was obviously the primary factor. Guess it's because it takes up more space that would otherwise be occupied by additional packages.

That sounds about right. I have sold wheels this way.

Box them up, pay online, print the receipt, put the label on the box and drop the box off at the nearest Fedex drop point or Kinkos.

Done.


-Tim-

Thanks. Now I just need a buyer!

Well how does Bike Island sell a pair of wheels with tires and tubes for $99 with free shipping?!
BikeIsland.com - Bicycle Parts, Accessories and Clothing at Affordable Prices with Free Shipping

I shipped a pair of carbon wheels (55mm) via www.shipbikes.com. They were at the destination in 2 days. The buyer was happy and so was I. :thumb:

Wheels with no-name hubs+slower shipping service+merchants typically get lower shipping rates than consumers+small profit margin?

I'll check them out too. Thanks!

Bill

I used to have access to a company shipping commercial ... The price thru them was always less than 50% of what I had to pay, shipping myself, via the same shipper.... and the shipper picked it up from them!

I’ve shipped my bike in a bike box from NC to WY for about $55. I found I could keep the price down by claiming minimal value, which seemed like a reasonable risk worth taking. FedEx seemed cheaper than UPS. Hopefully you can find prices even lower with a little smaller package and 20 lbs less weight than a full bike plus incidentals.

Don't forget the cheap rims, spokes, and tires. Much of the "free" shipping is no doubt paid for by how much less than $99 these wheels are worth.

I UPS'd one wheel 30 miles to Illinois in a purpose designed trapezoid box. Cost me $17.00.